Organisations - technological developments and communications

 The planning process in most organisations must include some appraisal of external, or environmental, factors on the business. Most often, this is carried out by analysing the various influences under headings such as:

• PEST -  political, economic, social, technological
• SLEPT - social, legal, economic, political, technological

Whatever acronym is used, there is no doubt that technological factors must be factored into the analysis. For most businesses, technological developments have a major impact on virtually every facet of the operation.

One of the most important aspects of organisational planning is the communications plan. Yet while most businesses acknowledge this, some do not regard it as a distinct feature of planning. Others may regard it as a component of a broader stakeholder or corporate affairs model.

This article examines the effects of technological change on communications in the organisation. Of necessity, this has to embrace both internal and external communications.

Background

Technological change is nothing new. During the Industrial Revolution developments in technology were equally welcomed and reviled, depending on the perceived impact on businesses and individuals. Just as entrepreneurs saw the great opportunities afforded by new technology, workers often saw such changes as threatening to jobs and therefore livelihoods.

Whilst the pace of technological advances accelerated, there were always those who considered the downside. Nowhere was this more evident than in the UK textile industry. Between 1750 and 1850 the industry changed completely from cottage-based production to factory-based production, but while businesses prospered and living standards increased for the majority, those who considered their jobs at risk resisted change actively and often violently.

Management theorists were quick to pick up on the opportunities and threats brought about by techological innovation. Frederick Winslow Taylor, the so-called 'father of scientific management', spent much of his time looking at newer more efficient ways of combining land, labour and capital. Much of his work ignored the effects of new methods on how people interacted at work. Technological change fundamentally affects the way in which people at work come into contact with one another and hence their patterns of communication.

During the inter-war years, enlightened writers such as Elton Mayo promoted a greater understanding of the relationship of the individual and working group with the working environment. The Hawthorne experiments confirmed the potency of empowering workers by giving them discretion in the workplace. This is impossible without bringing people together in small teams.

After World War 2, more complex management theories evolved in relation to the human relations aspects of work organisations. In particular, Frederick Herzberg foresaw a time when repetitive, boring jobs could be largely 'automated out', enabling the quality of work life to improve. Nearly 50 years later, developments in microchip technology have again revolutionised the way in which people work. This does not automatically remove some of the real difficulties with which managers are faced.

Charles Handy points to important shifts in the way work is carried out:

• more people work from home
• in an attempt to reduce operating costs, businesses are downsizing their permanent workforces and adopting more flexible structures, such as greater use of part-time workers and out-sourcing through external contractors.

It is quite conceivable that if such trends continue, face-to-face business relationships will be of less importance in future, bringing new challenges to the organisation.

New technology and internal communications

Traditional businesses bring workers together in work groups. These usually involve providing a physical location such as a factory or office. Several trends have emerged in recent years:

• there has been a general trend towards harnessing technology for what it can provide best - fast and accurate fulfilment of programmable tasks, leaving human resources for what they do best, which is carrying out functions requiring discretion and judgement
• many businesses have decentralised, using a smaller central or core administration and preferring autonomous or semi-autonomous business units
• conversely, some businesses have centralised as technology has enabled them to exert control over day-to-day operations
• there has been a tendency towards employing or contracting people to work on a more remote basis, often from home, which has resulted in fewer opportunities to bring those taking business decisions into contact with operatives actually carrying out the work
• many service providers have moved away from high-cost direct sales forces in favour of centralised call centres, taking advantage of the benefits of database marketing and telesales.

These changes have serious implications for internal communications. No-one doubts the effectiveness of team briefing or similar methods of bringing small teams together to share common goals. But how can this be facilitated if there is no longer a need to have the workforce together under one roof?

Technological developments have created new communication channels. These include video conferencing, use of e-mail and the internet. Soon, a new generation of communication tools will be in common use, including mobile telephones linked to the Internet and processing hardware which will probably make the personal computer obsolete. The benefits are clear. Information can be communicated quickly and accurately and on a two-way basis, even in organisations with dispersed locations. Feedback is almost instantaneous when necessary, including across international boundaries.

Businesses can now take advantage of state-of-the-art management information systems (MIS) which can create and deliver management reports to facilitate pro-active decision taking or quick responses to initiatives by competitors. As well as providing for the vital but negative control function, MIS now has a positive impact on achieving objectives through knowing more about financial results, market performance and analysing competitor activity.

Storage and processing of information can be improved by using developments such as optical disk storage, enabling workers access to documents on screen and reducing the need to search for documents. Technology can enhance the training process. Once dependent on bringing people together for courses and seminars, training can now be delivered through a wide range of media such as on-line ?help? services, CD-ROM packages, video tutorials and laser disk interactive video programmes with built-in checks to validate effectiveness.

By harnessing technology, organisations can reduce the costs associated with internal communications. By reducing the number of meetings necessary, it is possible to save time and money. By using electronic communications, the consumption of paper is reduced significantly.

Yet there are serious negative issues to be addressed in relation to the impact of technology. Innovation always involves change and people react differently to change. Whilst some thrive on challenges brought about by change, others are threatened by them. In terms of internal communications, this is likely to be of concern to those who prefer more traditional or accepted ways of working. There are still many managers today, for example, who are intimidated by the prospect of using a keyboard at a PC workstation, associating this with typewriting and secretarial functions.

Even where technology is accepted, it takes time to ?learn into? new systems. In addition to carrying out normal duties, therefore, workers have to invest time in familiarising themselves with these systems. In instances where technology centralises decision taking, managers may resent the apparent reduction in authority or change in role. In many banks, for example, the local manager is primarily a salesperson with lending and other mandates determined centrally.

Many workers thrive on personal contact. If this is so, they are likely to be more comfortable in team situations and produce better results as a consequence. Technology can reduce the need for interaction between individuals and therefore increase the sense of alienation of those to whom interpersonal relationships are an integral part of the work experience. Members of sales teams may be accustomed to regular business development meetings which can fulfil a variety of personal needs, including social interaction, the need for recognition and achievement of status through comparing favourable results with peers. These are basic needs which were highlighted by Abraham Maslow 50 years ago.

New ways of organising work activities can bring pressure to bear on those responsible for communications with teams and individuals. For example, call centres have been likened by some to a return to almost ?assembly line? methods. This was brought to the fore during 1999 by a dispute at a major telecommunications company, where call centre operatives complained of an over-focus on productivity at the expense of other aspects of the job. In a pressurised environment where results are everything, it is easy to ignore the simple needs to bring teams together to motivate and encourage.

Managing internal communications

So far we have considered the positives and negatives of technological change. It is in the interest of all businesses to promote effective internal communications.

There is no doubt that the increase in the range of media available to organisations can increase the actual volume of communications. But how much of the communication is effective? Obviously, businesses have to be more concerned with the quality rather than the quantity of communications.

Integral in a successful internal communications strategy are the following:

Management responsibility

There should be someone in the organisation, ideally at senior management level, responsible for internal communications. Larger companies may build this into the management structure, whilst smaller businesses may have to combine this role with other duties. The important thing is that the responsibility exists.

At policy level, an internal communications strategy can:

• communicate mission and objectives
• stress core performance criteria
• motivate teams and individuals
• accentuate strengths and achievements
• exhort employees to address areas were performance 'gaps' exist.

There is a special need to promote effective communications when different parts of the business are geographically separated. Some businesses, for example, separate the telesales unit from more traditional distribution channels, causing a parochial approach to business issues. Inevitably, conflicts can arise. Only by facilitating a sharing of common goals can this be addressed.

Structure

The traditional line and staff approach to organisation can itself be an inhibiting factor in establishing and maintaining effective communications. The advent of new technologies has if anything created new problems here. For example, if a company has workers carrying out their duties from home, paid on a 'piece work' basis and communicating largely by electronic methods, the barriers imposed by the organisational structure itself can impede the processes necessary to transmit messages.

Many companies have made changes to their organisation structures in order to address these problems, moving away from the line and staff model and towards more flexible structures.

Choosing the right medium

With a wide range of media to choose from, barriers to communications can arise from choosing an inappropriate method for the message. For example:

• routine messages between individuals can be conveyed in both directions by e-mail whilst more complex ones require alternative media such as hard copy briefings or meetings
• company results can be prepared and published for all to read, but motivation towards achieving better results is usually better achieved in small face-to-face teams.

Language

New technologies bring a language of their own. Conventional communications programmes stress the importance of simplicity in framing messages so that they are readily understood. Thirty years ago, Lawrence and Lorsch suggest that some of the problems here can be overcome by integrating the role of specialists, including technology experts, and generalists, who have to put IT solutions into practice.

Training

As we have seen, technology can be intimidating to some, so the training and development function has to be charged with the responsibility of equipping personnel with the knowledge and skills to use the means available to them. For example, most software products are sold with a manual, but a significant proportion of workers learn the skills necessary to use the software by interacting with others or being trained in small groups or on a one-to-one basis.

Technology in itself can relegate the importance of developing effective communication skills. Even where a worker operates in isolation, there is a good case for developing effective speaking, writing and listening skills so that the person can contribute fully to the organisation.

Feedback mechanisms

Communication is most effective when it flows in two directions. Feedback mechanisms are therefore vital in order to ensure that messages are received properly and appropriate actions taken.

When messages are communicated electronically, there is a facility for immediate feedback, but does the recipient get the message straightaway, and even if he does, due to the purely one-dimensional nature of the communication (words on a screen), can emotional aspects of the message such urgency and depth of feelings be put across?

As business relationships become more remote, it becomes more important to constantly address the question of how people feel in terms of what they can contribute to the team and how they personally would like to develop. Proper feedback systems are vital here in order to avoid alienating the worker and, more positively, utilise their skills and personal qualities to the optimum. As long ago as the late 1950s, Frederick Herzberg suggested that all people at work want to ask the question, 'How am I doing?'.

New technology and external communications

Technological change affects the ways in which organisations communicate with:

• customers
• suppliers
• the media
• the community in general and lobby groups in particular.

Organisations can now build and maintain sophisticated databases which enable them to segment the market more effectively. This means that they should be able to dovetail perceived customer needs with potential solutions.

The fastest growing channel to market is direct marketing. Whilst this medium once suffered from a 'junk mail' image, better applications of information technology can facilitate a two-way dialogue between customers and providers of goods and services.

By adopting a 'rifle' rather than a 'shotgun' approach to marketing, organisations can focus their efforts on communicating only relevant information, reducing the incidence of 'hit and miss' blanket campaigns to secure sales. Perhaps one of the more vivid illustrations of this is the development of loyalty cards by the large supermarket chains. Information can be gathered on shopping patterns and synchronised with orders and deliveries. Individual customer preferences can be logged and used to channel future mailshots.

Customers can now communicate with product and service providers through the internet. This has the advantage of more efficient order processing but can also facilitate feedback. On the downside, it reduces the personal contact between those customers who are technology-orientated and the providers of the services. New technology undoubtedly has the potential to improve communications between businesses and their suppliers. As well as the speed and accuracy afforded by modern communication devices, much of the routine verbal and written communication necessary to fill orders can be dealt with through just-in-time order processing and EDI technology.

Technology also enables better stock management and quality control within the company, enabling managers to provide reports to suppliers backed by hard information. In former times, suppliers would be told about changes in customer tastes and preferences as well as common complaints. This information can now be generated automatically.

Businesses can provide accurate information to the media on new product developments and financial results. They can also produce their own copy at a fraction of the cost of buying in print and publishing services.

In respect of the community at large, better communications are facilitated by the broadening of channels. In an age of increasing consumerism, empowerment of the individual and strengthening of lobby/pressure groups, it is vitally important to gather market intelligence and manage external communications pro-actively. The Shell oil company learnt this to its cost during the Brent Spar controversy during the 1990s.

Managing external communications

Communications strategy

The goals of any organisation can only be pursued in the context of a complex series of relationships with external bodies.

To communicate effectively with the customers, various interest groups and the community at large, organisations should have an integrated communications strategy. Many companies seek to achieve this by working to a stakeholder model. One major bank, for example, produces an annual communications plan to take account of relationships with:

• customers
• regulatory bodies
• political parties
• suppliers
• media
• the community
• education and training establishments
• trade federations and other banking institutions.

Targets are set in respect of each group, with a regular assessment of goals followed by implementation of appropriate actions.

Feedback

Just as feedback is a crucial part of the internal communication process, it is a vital issue in relation to external communications. Businesses must actively seek feedback in order to keep appraised of feelings, intentions and actions of the groups of stakeholders described above. For example, regular meetings with suppliers are essential.

Some retail groups enhance the two-way communication process by using consumer panels to gauge responses to new and existing product lines.

Service quality initiatives are becoming a regular feature of business strategy. It is not possible for all businesses to compete on price alone, so quality is an essential differentiator. Service quality can only be assessed by gathering feedback from the market place. Various methods have been used to quantify service quality, including the SERVQUAL model.

Getting the message right

Most businesses are now operating in a 'goldfish bowl' where all actions are transparent. Organisations must ensure that the messages they convey are unambiguous. Quoted companies in particular can be especially vulnerable to market sentiment, so the concept of primacy (getting it right first time) is absolutely crucial.

Technology ensures that messages travel fast. Businesses have to accept that 'spin doctoring' is now a permanent feature of the commercial environment. Equally important is the necessity to ensure that messages contain substance rather than 'hype'. One company recently responded to a competitor initiative with a statement by the chief executive that they were not 'over excited' by the development. This was interpreted by the media as complacency on the part of his company and its share price fell alarmingly as a result.

Speed of response

In a challenging competitive environment, organisations have to respond quickly. Sometimes genuine harm can be done by not responding at all or responding inadequately to developments in the market place.

Using the technology available

Technology can 'score' for the organisation if used properly. All businesses have to use the right method for the message, so the full range of media have to be considered. For example, a press release on a new product or initiative has much less impact if the web site is not updated. Several exciting new products and services have been launched by using innovative technology such as virtual reality presentations. Gearing the communication medium to the recipient

There is no point in using high technology solutions if the recipient of the message is unlikely to respond to these. The medium chosen should reflect the preferences of the receiver to achieve maximum impact.

Conclusion

Communication is often regarded as a common sense process, yet it is a lack of attention to the fundamentals of communication that can often damage a company.

Irrespective of the technology available and its impact, those responsible for communications should remain aware of the basic reality that 'Communication is the art of being understood'.